Iris Shepherd

Iris Shepherd is a 13-year-old violinist from Henry, Tennessee. Under the tutelage of Connie Heard at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, she is a recipient of the prestigious Myra Jackson Blair scholarship. As winner of the Samuel Fordis Young Artists Concerto Competition, Iris made her solo orchestral debut with the Georgia Philharmonic in 2018. Later the same year, she soloed with the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra as a participant in the Brian Lewis Young Artist Program. Most recently, Iris won the Curb Youth Symphony Concerto Competition, the Tennessee state division of the Music Teacher’s National Association strings competition, and the inaugural Tennessee American Strings Teachers’ Association concerto competition.

Though her first love is classical music, Iris won the James G. “Bobo” Driver National Championship fiddle contest in 2017. She made her Grand Ole Opry stage debut during the summer of 2016, performing a featured solo as part of the Fine Arts Summer Academy. Iris is also an active performer with The Shepherd Family, with whom she has made numerous Tennessee Public Television appearances. Iris has served as concert master of various community and festival orchestras and is a member of Vanderbilt’s Curb Youth Symphony.

When Iris isn’t playing her violin, she enjoys reading, hiking, and playing with Tommy and Gilbert—her two cats.

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Competition Calendar

COMPETITIONS

Best Performance

An annual competition series paying tribute to some of the greatest composers of all time. All of the competitions in this series are designed in such a way that the award winners will be announced annually on the composers' birthdays.

Rising Talents of the World

The rising music stars to look out for. An annual competition series in which talents are chosen from countries in each world region.

The Music of the Centuries

An annual competition series paying tribute to the baroque, classical, romantic, and contemporary musical eras.

The Music of Europe

An annual competition series paying tribute to the classical music traditions of Europe.

The Music of America

An annual competition paying tribute to the North & South American music.

The Art of Instrumental Performance

An annual competition series paying tribute to the art of instrumental music, focusing on piano, strings, winds, percussion, and chamber music.

The Art of Vocal Performance

An annual competition series paying tribute to the art of singing, focusing on opera, sacred music, art song, and musical theatre.

Masters of Concerto

An annual competition series paying tribute to the art of the Concerto & Concertino's large-scale musical form.

Masters of Sonata

An annual competition series paying tribute to the art of the Sonata/Sonatina's large-scale musical form.